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Nationalism: “Natural Born” Feng Shui

2008/12/21 — grant czerepak

I have been stumbling into some blogs recently that have been claiming to be objective about their mud slinging. The one that pushed my button tried to rationalize the ineligibility of Barack Obama to be president because of his place of birth.

Now let’s stop for a minute and think about this constitutional requirement. What magical power does being born within the boundaries of the United States give you? Since every American is descended from immigrants it certainly doesn’t mean you were molded by some deity out of American clay. And is American clay contagious? The boundaries of the United States have been changing continually. Am I more American if I was born in Pennsylvania than if I was born in California? What are national boundaries if not some type of ancient Feng Shui or geomancy? Or is it something more simple and arcane? Perhaps you are the property of the incumbent power structure of the United States if you are born there. Oh, yes you are.

What was the American civil war about if it was not a battle over human resources and whether humans should have all their needs attended to by the plantation and bound with chains or none of their needs attended to by the company and bound with debt? Who won? Have Americans eliminated their debt? Have Americans eliminated their enemies? Have Americans eliminated disease? Is that what you are ultimately born into if you are not in the top 10% of the power structure?

Does being born in the United States make you a better scientist? Does being born in the United States make you a better leader? Does being born in the United States make you a better professional? Does being born in the United States make you a better accountant? Does being born in the United States make you a better soldier? Does being born in the United States make you a better worker? By what magical power? By what divination?

“Natural Born” is a meaningless pedigree for a people without any claim to fame except that they randomly plopped out of the womb and into the world within a national boundary that may not be around in 100 years. It is as meaningless as being born among “God’s chosen people”. It is as meaningless as being born with a particular pigmentation of skin. It is as meaningless as being born in January versus December.

The only thing that gives our boundaries meaning is our division and our conquest by the incumbent powers.